No. 22 Tech walks off No. 12 OSU

Friday, March 17

Lubbock, TX

6:30 p.m. CT

Texas Tech Athletics

17-3, 1-0

Oklahoma State

15-4, 0-1

Oklahoma State

Texas Tech

March 17, 2023 | Baseball

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By: Matt Burkholder

LUBBOCK, Texas – No. 22 Texas Tech opened Big 12 action in dramatic fashion, taking down No. 12 Oklahoma State, 8-7, in 10 innings on Friday night at Rip Griffin Park. Gavin Kash played hero, knocking home the game-winning run for the walk-off win to clinch game one of the series.

The Red Raiders fell behind by as much as six, 7-1, after the top of the fifth inning. Tech rallied scoring the final seven runs of the game to snap the Cowboys' 12-game winning streak, including a four-run eighth inning to tie the game 7-7.

The Cowboys ended Tech's Friday night starter, Brendan Girton's evening early after 3 and 2/3 innings. The junior surrendered six runs, five of them earned, as they knocked him for six hits and got on base with four walks. The Texas Tech bullpen was stellar in picking him up as a battery of four arms allowed three hits and one run over the next 6 and 1/3 innings.

"Really the story of the game," said head coach Tim Tadlock about Oklahoma State without a run over the final five innings. "[Garrett] Crowley, [Brendan] Lysik, and [Ethan] Coombes and [Ryan] Free. Really just to get it to Free, those guys threw the ball awful well."

Ethan Coombes pitched two innings, the seventh and eighth, and struck out five of the nine batters he faced.

"He's got a good arm, got a good fastball, but he has a wipe-out secondary pitch," said Tadlock. "You can know it's coming and not be able to hit it. Just really proud of him."

Left-handed pitcher Ryan Free entered in the ninth and finished the game by retiring Oklahoma State in six-up, six-down fashion. Free was credited the win, moving his record to 2-1 on the season.

"Guys played good defense behind them; we probably had some luck in there," added Tadlock. "So, we had some luck on our side, which you need."

Techs' eighth-inning outburst saw them bat around the order. With one out, the next three Red Raiders reached base thanks to a walk, a hit-by-pitch and a single. Gage Harrelson drew a bases-loaded walk to plate the first run. Kevin Bazzell singled, scoring the next two and Austin Green hit the third single of the frame to score the fourth run.

Capitalizing on Free's flawless ninth and 10th, the final run in the 10th was scored by Bazzell. The redshirt freshman made it to second base thanks to a one-out single and an advance to second on a throwing error. He came around to score on a deep fly ball to left field hit by Kash that could not be tracked down in the Lubbock night sky with two outs.

Bazzell finished with a team-best three hits and two RBI. He went 3-of-5 with two singles and a double. Green and Tracer Lopez tallied a pair of hits.